Laminate Flooring Lowes vs. Home Depot

Laminate floors are synthetic composite floors with multi-layers that are fused through a lamination process. Laminate flooring comes in numerous designs and patterns, but there is always a question of where to buy them. Lowe’s and Home Depot are trusted names when it comes to the laminate flooring market, so let’s see how they compare.

Lowe’s is a one-stop home improvement shop that provides many of your home hardware needs. It is owned by Lucius Smith Lowe, who opened the first Lowe’s shop in North Carolina in 1921.Home Depot is the largest home improvement store in the United States. It started as two stores in Atlanta by Marcus and Blank, but today they have over 2,200 stores in three countries.

Lowe’s laminate flooring is top-notch, and it comes at an affordable price. On the other hand, Home Depot sells high-quality laminate floors but with better customer service

FeaturesLowe’sHome Depot
Unique brandsStainmaster, Kronotex, Shaw, American Heritage, Allen + Roth, etc.Home Decorators Collection, Trafficmaster, Husky, etc.
Online shoppingYesYes
Home deliveryYesYes, but will not deliver some heavy items
InstallationYesYes
Customer serviceGoodExcellent
Warranty and return policyGoodBetter

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Differences between Lowe’s and Home Depot laminate flooring 

The major difference between Lowe’s and Home Depot laminate flooring can be seen in their brands, wide varieties and designs, online shopping services, warranty and return policy, and customer service. 

Brands

Lowe’s and Home Depot are in a high level of competition that also affects the brands they sell. They sell for different brands, so the store you buy from will determine the brand of laminate flooring you will have. For instance, if you buy from Lowe’s store, your laminate floor will come from brands Stainmaster, Shaw, American Heritage, etc., while Home Depot sells laminate floors from brands like Home Decorators Collection, Trafficmaster, Husky, etc. You won’t find Shaw laminate floors at Home Depot, just like you won’t find that of Trafficmaster at Lowe’s store. The reason for this is to drive customers towards a particular brand which increases the chances of making them buy other products produced by the same brand. 

Another reason is that it drives the competition between both stores down to the manufacturers, forcing them to constantly produce high-quality commodities, which is beneficial to the customers and the industry at large.

Vast varieties and design 

Both stores sell different brands, so they are equipped with different types of laminate floors with lots of designs and patterns. Let’s look at some of them. 

The types of laminate flooring you will get from Lowe’s are:

  1. Waterproof laminate flooring: Equipped with a stain and scratch-resistant surface and a locking system that does not allow liquid penetration. 
  2. Water-resistant laminate flooring: This resists spills.
  3. Laminate with attached underlayment: For an easy installation process no need to roll out separate underlayment
  4. Wood-look laminate flooring: It provides a natural wood look at a lower price than hardwood.
  5. Multi-width laminate flooring: It displays planks in different widths.

These laminates also come in various colors such as white and off-white laminate, dark laminate, multi-tonal laminate, gray laminate, and brown laminate.

For Home Depot, the laminate floors you will get are:

  1. Laminate wood flooring: For a natural look of stained wood.
  2. Laminate floor tiles: This provides a typical tile look.
  3. Beige in laminate wood flooring: For an air of naturalness.

You also have the luxury of multi-colors and patterns such as gray, white, brown, textured, rustic, etc. 

Online shopping services

The service provided by both stores online is one of the factors to consider when shopping for laminate floors. Before now, Home Depot was the winner here. Their online store has an intuitive, user-friendly design, unlike Lowe’s online store, which looked horrible and by no means easy to navigate. However, that has changed now. Lowe’s has not only improved their online platform to be smart and lightweight, but they also deliver heavy laminate floors, which gives them an edge over Home Depot, which will not deliver some heavy products. So if you plan to heavy laminate floors, Lowe’s online store will deliver to you.

Warranties and returns

Stores are open for business, and no store will smile at the return of an already sold product. Lowe’s and Home Depot, however, offer warranties and accept returns of laminate floors, but if you want a better warranty and return policy, Home Depot is the go-to store. They are known for always holding up their own end of the deal.

Customer service

Every store boasts of good customer service, but not many are up to that standard. Flooring is an important part of your building, and you need experienced attendants who can answer all your questions, especially if you are a novice to laminate floors. Most times, these attendants are not employed as experts from the laminate industries, so they gain their knowledge as they work. This means that Home Depot scores better at retaining employees because their staff seem to be more confident, eager to help customers, and have deeper knowledge that will help you choose the laminate floor you need than Lowe’s.

Purchasing and installation Cost

Many factors affect the cost of purchasing a laminate floor, ranging from the size you want and the quantity you are buying to the design and brand you want. Therefore, prices are constantly changing in both stores. For instance, a $5 dollar per square foot laminate at Lowe’s stores might cost $10 at Home Depot, and the reverse is also true. However, the price range of laminate floors at Lowe’s is $1 to $5 per square foot, and the installation cost is $2 to $4 each square foot, while that of Home Depot is from $1.50 to 3$ per square foot, and an installation cost of $2 to $3 per square foot. 

Conclusion 

Choosing a laminate flooring and the store to buy from is not a difficult task after all. Both stores provide high-quality laminate flooring with lots of designs for you to choose from. If you are shopping online and you want delivery, Lowe’s will serve you better, and their laminate floors come at an affordable price, but if you want a store where you will be carefully guided to select the type of laminate flooring you want, you should consider Home Depot they have good customer service.

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